Channing Tatum Has No Plans For a Third ‘Magic Mike’ Movie

This is a sad day. We should all wear black arm bands. Or better yet: Black thong underwear. That’s the only proper way to mourn the news that there will be no Magic Mike 3.

The Hollywood Reporterspoke with the star and producer of Magic Mike, Channing Tatum, who said there are no current plans to make another Magic Mike film after Magic Mike XXL (which, somewhat surprisingly, grossed only $66 million in the U.S., a little more than half of the original Magic Mike’s $113.7 million). There is no join in Mudville. Magic Mike has stopped thrusting his pelvis.

But wait! A ray of light in the darkness, like a sparkle off a bunch of sequins on an elaborate stripper costume. Tatum says the franchise will still continue, possibly in two different forms, just not on screen. Instead, Magic Mike’s legacy will live on stage. Tatum told THR:

“The third installment will be the show, and I think it has to evolve past these guys. The first one was about Mike, the second one was about the guys and I think the third one is really about man and woman having a conversation about sex and themselves and who we all are. That’s the next step I would like to take with the story.

There are actually two different Magic Mike shows in development. In late 2015, news broke that a Magic Mike musical was headed to Broadway, with a book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark), that would actually be a prequel about Mike’s early days as a stripper. And then there’s a live Magic Mike stage show that debuts at the Hard Rock Hotel in 2017. It will feature “a real life version of the club at the foundation of Magic Mike XXL ... with three elaborately designed bars, an integrated stage and seating for 450 guests.” So probably less dialogue and singing than Broadway and more gyrating men in very little clothing.

I have a sneaking suspicion that both of these ventures will be great successes. But I still would have been game for a third proper Magic Mike movie. If only there was a GIF that summarized my shock at this disappointing news.